A few insights about The Japan Times' coverage of the bj-league, now in its ninth season...

*Former bj-league Coach of the Year John Neumann first got his foot in the door as a coach here (Fukuoka, Takamatsu) by contacting The Japan Times first about job info. His coaching credentials, submitted via email, were passed along to the league office.

(He read about potential job openings in the English-language national newspaper, not on the league website in Japanese.)

*Stating the facts: Since spearheading The Japan Times coverage of the bj-league since before the 2006-07 season, No. 2 for the upstart league, tipped off, I've written about 1,300 articles on the league (game roundups, news reports, columns, features, Q&As, notebooks , etc. -- in addition to non-byline briefs and staff reports). We have given the league a place for year-round coverage with depth, insight and perspective. Just so you know...